With so much challenge going on in the world right now, I thought I would take this time to share Jenny’s incredible and uplifting #animallessons story with you.

I first met Jenny when she came to me for private sessions. She and her husband had questions about their dogs. In the sessions, Jenny always had great questions, but she also had a lot of anxiety, which is something her dogs often pointed out!

As a result of Jenny’s anxiety and past health problems she’d pretty much become a recluse in her home, questioning herself, her strength, her awesomeness, and her resiliency. (Just so you know, her dogs never questioned those things and often told her so in our sessions!)

For years, Jenny had given up her power, allowing others to have their say – often at her own expense. Her loving husband encouraged her every day to reclaim her power, make decisions for herself, and say what she really wanted but that never felt safe to Jenny. Through the sessions with me and by taking some of my animal communication classes, she’d started exploring these ideas which left her primed and ready for what she was about to experience.

In April, Jenny came to my Costa Rica Horse and Soul workshop and it was the first time she’d traveled on her own. In Horse and Soul, horses are given a true voice – and it’s through that voice that we work with them to learn what they’re trying to teach us. JR, the horse that chose Jenny had his own opinion of her and what she needed to evolve her soul. He was clearly determined to help Jenny grow, no matter what that ended up looking like. I couldn’t have predicted that he would choose THIS method for assisting her, as the method he chose is not something that ever would have worked on me!

During the group’s first horseback ride JR began stopping in the middle of the trail with Jenny on his back. He would then just stand there. Literally doing nothing. At first, Jenny said, “Go?” but that didn’t do anything. JR continued to stand, staying as still as a statue. She tried another tactic, “JR, go where you want to go!” Again, nothing. But Jenny was used to following in everyone else’s footsteps so being the leader that JR was asking her to be was completely foreign to her. JR was waiting for HER direction, for Jenny to make the decision as to where they were going to go. Jenny had almost no option other than to make a decision and become the leader. And as soon as she decided what she wanted (where she wanted him to walk), he would move and they would get on with their ride, smoothly and beautifully that is, until she’d forget that she was the one in charge and he’d stop again, simply waiting for her to make the decision for the two of them. What an empowering moment for Jenny!

Through our time in Costa Rica, Jenny had many other firsts:

She traveled and flew alone for the first time

She rode a horse for the first time

She rode a horse bareback for the first time

She stood on the stadium seating during our rodeo and belted out some Backstreet Boys song (I do NOT know which one) while others rode their horses

She swam in a non-chlorinated waterfall

She did her first in-person animal reading (with two people no less!)

She made decisions for herself and her horse and felt good about them

I could actually go on and on with these first – and I know I’ve very much simplified Jenny’s experience for the sake of writing here, but I really wanted to share the power of this story and this is the best that I could do!

Animals have something to teach us. Each animal has a lesson for each person – and when we become aware of this, we lock into an incredible opportunity to not only evolve our own souls, but also to feel and experience the unconditional love of animals (and help them live better lives too!). Yes, yes I know I keep talking about this (it is after all what my book Animal Lessons is all about), but I do believe that lessons from animals have the power to transform so many of us from feeling trapped within ourselves, to experiencing all that the world has to offer.

Love and Light,
Danielle

PS: Have your own Animal Lesson to share? Check out my Instagram contest here (just snap a pic of your pet to get going!) where you can win an autographed copy of my book, Animal Lessons or even a private reading with me!